MS - 065: The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania Collection

Processed by: Jason Kowell '06
July 2005

Provenance: Placed on deposit by Ronald Miller on November 18, 1996

Overview:
The Lincoln Fellowship (LF) was founded in 1938 as a non-profit organization with the stated purpose:

“To observe as Americans each anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln; to fittingly   commemorate the anniversary of the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and the Gettysburg Address he delivered there; to preserve and make more readily accessible the  landmarks associated with his life or ancestry within Pennsylvania; and actively to encourage the    youth of our Commonwealth to embrace his ideals.”

Each year the LF has held a luncheon on November 19^th (“Dedication Day”) for its members which included several speeches from prominent national, state, and local figures. The luncheon has been held every year since 1938 except for a brief period from 1942 – 1944 when WWII gas rationing made traveling to Gettysburg impossible for many members. Other notable events held by the LF on Dedication Day include the reading of the Gettysburg Address and the laying of a wreath. Aside from the annual events the LF has over the years been involved with several short term projects including: translating the Gettysburg Address into multiple languages (1955), fundraising for the Lincoln Statues (1959, 1981, 1990), the Sesquicentennial (1959), and the Lincoln Stamp (1960), and the 125^th Anniversary (1988)

For a more comprehensive history of the Fellowship from 1938 to 1963 see the paper in folder 1-45. A list of speakers from 1938 to 1993 can be found in folder 1-49.

Scope & Content Notes:
The Lincoln Fellowship collection consist largely of correspondence between LF officials and members (individual or through bulk mailings), LF officials and potential guests and speakers, and inter-organizational correspondence. Also included is documentation of LF events (newspaper clippings, photographs, speeches, and video recordings) as well as a few other miscellaneous items. Mixed in with the correspondence are Treasurer’s Reports, publicity pamphlets/programs, and bills/invoices.

Most of the papers relate to the annual Lincoln Fellowship luncheon and related events held on November 19^th (Dedication Day) in one form or another. However, on years where special events (i.e. funding the Lincoln Statue, the Sesquicentennial, the translation projects, etc) a large percent of papers in that folder pertain to those events as well.

Series Description: The collection is divided into five series:

I. Dated Folders - Correspondence, reports, and a few invoices. For the most part  these papers were left in their original order, however papers that were placed in the wrong year’s folder were moved to the correct year.

II. Newspaper Clippings – A large collection of photocopies of newspaper articles from the 1920’s and 1940’s through the 1990’s covering the Lincoln Fellowship luncheons. The vast majority of papers make clear what paper and date the article is from, however there are some from unknown sources. The majority of the articles come from the Gettysburg Times, with a few from Lancaster, Harrisburg,    and other city papers.

III. Misc. Folders – These folders consist of papers that were not put into the    dated, annual folders (Series I) by the Lincoln Fellowship. There are two  

            sub-series:

                        A. Dated – Papers that cover a single subject or event that occurred over once over a narrow time period.

·         “Gettysburg Address – Translations” (1955)

·         Text of Addresses – Visitors Center Dedication 1962

·         Lincoln Misc. Items Received by Society (1963)

·         Treasuer’s [sic] Records 67-77

·         GAR Remembrance Day – Programs (1983)

·         INCORPORATION and IRS (1987-1988)

·         Treasuer’s [sic] Records 1987-88

·         1988 LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS

·         Lincoln Fellowship Budget 1995-96

·         Colimore, Edward, the Philadelphia Inquirer, 1996

·         Fitts, Deborah, The Civil War News, 1996

·         US Army Field Band & Soldier’s Chorus Programs, Tickets, Publicity for Concert

                        B. Undated – Papers covering things that either had no specific time frame (such as   the LF constitution) or items regarding events that reoccurred over the entire history of the LF (such as the luncheon programs).

·         CONSTITUTION

·         Fall Programs

·         L.F. Fall Mailings

·         L.F. Minutes

·         L.F. Treasurer’s Report

·         Letterhead, Handouts, Etc. Samples

·         Newsletters

·         PHOTOS

·         Programs

·         Scott Lincoln Fellowship Archives (Recent Speeches)

·         Text of Addresses

 
IV. VHS Tapes – Five video recordings of ceremonies from 1988, 1991, 1993,  1994, and 1999.

V. Wood Blocks – A set of photographs, translations of the Gettysburg Address,  and the official dedication of the National Cemetery